There is a current trend in the industry to limit the amount of volatile components in various types of products. The EPA and various state and local legislators have proposed or passed rules and regulations to limit the amount of volatile compounds that can be released in various industry applications. In the rooking industry s is common to adhesively bond roof membranes to a roof substrate by the use of hot asphalt, or flammable solvent based contact bond adhesives. Hot asphalts and solvent-based adhesives typically release large amounts of volatile compounds into the atmosphere during application of the adhesives on a roofing system. These volatile compounds are also typically flammable, thus requiring several safety precautions when applying the adhesive to the roof system. The volatile compounds can also become trapped below a roof membrane, thus cause blisters and delamination of the roof membrane. Sprayable polyurethane foam adhesives are also commonly used as adhesive for roofing systems. Spraying the polyurethane adhesive produces a potentially hazardous aerosol, requiring use of protective suits, respiratory protection, or the like in order to protect those spraying the adhesive and applying the roof membrane. These aerosols can also include compounds that are undesirable for the environment.
In view of the current state of the art there is a need for an asphalt or bitumen based adhesive having a very low volatile content which can be used to adhesively secure a roof membrane to a roof substrate.